BARRING any last-minute changes, politician and publisher Omoyele Sowore, alongside social media giants X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook), will on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged publication of false information against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Sowore, who contested the presidency under the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019 and 2023, and is publisher of Sahara Reporters, faces a five-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025. The Department of State Services (DSS) filed the charges in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The arraignment is slated to hold before Justice Mohammed Umar.
According to the charge sheet obtained by News Point Nigeria, the case stems from Sowore’s social media posts on August 25 and 26, 2025, where he allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” who had “lied shamelessly” while speaking in Brazil about corruption in Nigeria.
The DSS claimed Sowore knowingly published false and defamatory content with the intent to cause public fear, incite disorder, and discredit the President.
One of the counts read: “That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, did use your official X handle, @YeleSowore, to send out a message: ‘This criminal @officialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly.’ You knew the said message to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.”
A similar count was listed in relation to his Facebook page, while additional charges referenced the Criminal Code Act (Sections 375 and 59), which criminalise defamation and the publication of false statements likely to cause public disturbance.
News Point Nigeria gathered that the DSS filed the charges on September 16, 2025, just days after formally writing to Meta and X, asking the platforms to take down Sowore’s posts. Both companies are now joined as defendants in the case for allegedly enabling the spread of the posts.
The prosecution argued that Sowore’s actions contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as relevant sections of the Criminal Code Act. If convicted, he could face significant penalties, including imprisonment.
The charges are as follows:
Publishing false claims on X and Facebook with intent to incite unrest.
Defamation of the President’s personality and reputation.
Dissemination of information capable of causing fear and disturbance among the public.
With tech giants X and Meta also in the dock, the case is expected to attract international attention, especially regarding free speech, state regulation of digital platforms, and the legal responsibilities of social media companies in Nigeria.
A Saudi-based International Lawyer, Basheer Ameer Hassan told News Point Nigeria that Tuesday’s arraignment may set a precedent for how far Nigerian authorities can go in holding both individuals and digital platforms accountable for online content deemed defamatory or destabilising.
